In Menendez's troubles, echoes of past scandals

In this May 12, 2011, file photo Senate Ethics Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is pursued by reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boxer chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, which is investigating Sen. Robert Menendez, R–N.J. From the "Keating Five" scandal, one of the more celebrated Congressional ethics cases, to more recent investigations, members of Congress have regularly run into trouble when they cross a sometimes blurry line between helping a supporter and engaging in a quid pro quo.

J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Summary

An ethical cloud is following Sen. Robert Menendez in Washington, even as he plays starring roles in some of Congress' most fraught domestic and foreign policy dramas.

WASHINGTON — An ethical cloud is following Sen. Robert Menendez in Washington, even as he plays starring roles in some of Congress' most fraught domestic and foreign policy dramas.

The New Jersey Democrat leads the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee as clashes with Syria, Iran and North Korea come to the forefront. At home, the Cuban-American senator is at the center of the immigration overhaul fight that's captivating Capitol Hill.

All the while, a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into Menendez's conduct persists, with many of the same questions about politics, money and influence that have dogged members of Congress through history: When does helping a supporter become a quid pro quo?

At issue is Menendez's relationship with Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist who is being investigated by the FBI. The two have long, deep ties and their relationship bears similarities to past congressional scandals, experts said. Menendez has acknowledged several instances when actions he or his office has taken appear to have benefited Melgen. Menendez insists he's done nothing wrong.

"No one has bought me, No. 1. No one. Ever," Menendez has said. "In the 20 years I've been in Congress, never has it been suggested that that could even be possible. Never in 40 years of public life. So I'm not going to reach this moment in my life to make that a possibility."

It's a familiar Washington dance.

From the "Keating Five" scandal, one of the more celebrated congressional ethics cases, to more recent investigations, members of Congress have regularly run into trouble over the question of when helping a supporter crosses a line into impropriety.

"Most senators are doing this and you rarely get nailed for it," said Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush and now a law professor at the University of Minnesota. Menendez has run into to trouble because "he didn't dot the i's and cross the t's. That allows (the Senate Ethics Committee) to open up a file and investigate."

Painter said that is similar to how past ethical scandals have unfolded. During the Keating Five scandal, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., drew attention for flights he took on the plane of Charles Keating Jr., a top donor. Menendez's flights on Melgen's plane created a similar stir.

Ethical experts said Menendez's publicized actions are similar to those that have brought censure in the past.

"It's clear to me he crossed the line," said Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor and the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.

Sloan said Menendez's advocacy for Melgen on numerous fronts — particularly with federal regulators — is what makes his situation stand out as ethically questionable.

Lawmakers consistently find themselves on slippery terrain by helping donors, said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. She said that appeared to be the case with Menendez, too.

"We certainly have run across our fair share of scandals inspired by or really cemented by actions taken on behalf of donors," Krumholz said. "Often — too often — there's a nexus between top donors giving significant amounts of money and that money amounting to a significant return on investment."

She added, "Not a Congress goes by without there being some question of improper actions being taken."

Melgen is Menendez's top political donor. Last year, Melgen's practice gave $700,000 to Majority PAC, a super PAC set up to fund Democratic candidates for the Senate. Aided by Melgen's donation, the super PAC became the largest outside political committee contributing to Menendez's re-election, spending more than $582,000 on the senator's behalf.